Thermal and spatial design of a high power density drive

Industrial drives, like many other power electronics applications are experiencing an ever increasing demand for high power densities. Only through a system integration approach which involves an integrated thermal and spatial design and using integration technologies can this goal be achieved. Hybrid integration in the form of integrated power electronics modules (IPEMs) is one of the key elements of this approach. Advanced thermal management with optimised air flow and a special heat sink structure is the other key element. In this paper a thermal management concept for high power density drives is investigated and a novel method, i.e. the integrated I-Housing, is utilized to implement the heat removal system. The complex thermal management structure consisting of an impingement cooled pin fin heatsink and heat exhaust paths, which significantly reduce the amount of air required for cooling, are modelled. The model presented in this paper is experimentally verified with a thermal dummy. The model is ultimately to be used to design the thermal management for a fully functional 2.2 kW inverter with a total volume of 500 cm³ - four times smaller than the current state of the art.